Login
Login

List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes

{{Short description|None}}

{{pp|small=yes}}

{{Indo-European topics|283}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indian religions.

From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent – Indus Valley (roughly today's Pakistani Punjab and Sindh), Western India, Northern India, Central India, Eastern India and also in areas of the southern part like Sri Lanka and the Maldives through and after a complex process of migration, assimilation of other peoples and language shift.{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997}}Parpola, Asko (2015), The Roots of Hinduism. The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization, Oxford University Press

Ancestors

File:Indo-European Migrations. Source David Anthony (2007), The Horse, The Wheel and Language.jpg as described in The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=}}]]

File:Andronovo culture.png culture (red), its expansion into the Andronovo culture (orange) during the 2nd millennium BC, showing the overlap with the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (chartreuse green) in the south and also with the Afanasievo culture in the east. The location of the earliest chariots is shown in magenta. Several scholars associate Proto-Indo-Iranians with Sintashta-Petrovka culture.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997}} These scholars also may associate some mentions in the Avesta (sacred scriptures of Zoroastrianism), like the Airyanəm Vaēǰō – "Aryans' Expanse", as distant memories that were retained by oral tradition of this old land of origin.{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=}} There are also mentions of Āryāvarta – "Aryans Abode" (in sacred Hindu scriptures such as Dharmashastras and Sutras), the Hindu counterpart of Airyanəm Vaēǰō, although it refers to Northern India and they are later.]]

File:BMAC.png (BMAC), according to the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. The BMAC culture and peoples influenced migrating Indo-Iranians that came from the north.]]

Image:Map of Vedic India.png Āryāvarta is highlighted in pale yellow]]

File:EpicIndia.jpg.]]

Vedic tribes

  • Alina people (RV 7.18.7)
  • Anu (RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5)
  • Āyu
  • Bhageratha
  • Bhalanas
  • Bharatas- The Bharatas are a major Aryan clan, especially in Mandala 3 attributed to the Bharata sage Vishvamitra. The entire Bharata clan is described as crossing over, with their chariots and wagons, at the confluence of the Vipash (Beas River) and Shutudri (Satlej). The Bharatas are mentioned as the protagonists in the Battle of the Ten Kings in Mandala 7 (7.18 etc.), where they are on the winning side. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various Aryan and non-Aryan clans so that they continue to dominate in post-Rigvedic texts, and later in the (Epic) tradition. "Bhārata" today is the official name of the Republic of India (see also Etymology of India).
  • Chedi
  • Dasa
  • Dasyu
  • Dṛbhīka
  • Druhyus (Rigveda, RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5)
  • Gandhara
  • Guṅgu
  • Ikshvaku dynasty
  • Krivi
  • Kīkaṭa
  • Kuru
  • Mahīna
  • Malankhara
  • Maujavant
  • Matsya
  • Nahuṣa
  • Pakhta
  • Panis
  • Pārāvata
  • Parsu (Parśu)
  • Puru (Pūru)
  • Ruśama (RV Mandala 8)
  • Sārasvata
  • Srñjaya
  • Tritsu (RV 7.18, 7.33, 7.83)
  • Yadu: Of Indo-Aryan origin,Yadu is one of the five early Rigvedic tribes (panchajana, panchakrishtya or panchamanusha) mentioned in the Rigveda.{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Upinder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC&pg=PA187|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|publisher=Pearson Education|year=2008|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|location=Delhi|page=187|author-link=Upinder Singh}}{{sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=54}}{{sfn|Witzel|1999}} The Yadus had a tribal union with the Turvasha tribe, and were frequently described together.{{sfn|Witzel|2001}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995a|p=}}{{pn|date=August 2024|reason=Page orig given in ref is not in relevant page range for chapter cited}} The Yadus were a Aryan tribe.{{sfn|Witzel|1999}} By the time of the arrival of the Puru and Bharata tribes, the Yadu-Turvashas were settled in Punjab, with the Yadus possibly residing along the Yamuna River.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=262}}{{pb}}In Mandalas 4 and 5 of the Rigveda, the god Indra is stated to have saved the Yadu-Turvashas from drowning when they crossed rivers.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=235}}{{Sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=605, 695}} In Mandala 6, the Yadu-Turvashas are stated to have been "brought from far away" by Indra.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|pp=222, 262}}{{Sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=829}} The Yadu-Turvashas are treated relatively positively in Mandalas 5, 6, and 8,{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|p=237}} and are stated to be the occasional allies and enemies of the Puru-Bharatas.{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|p=235}} In the Battle of the Ten Kings, the Yadus were defeated by Bharata chieftain Sudas.{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|p=239}}

Pancha Jana (Five tribes)

(पञ्च जना – Páñca Jánāḥ / Pancha-janah) The pancha Jana are five tribes inexplicitly listed together during the (Āryāvarta of this time, c. 1700–1500 BCE, roughly corresponds with the Punjab and closer regions) (see the map of Early Vedic Period)

  • Anu (in the southwest part of early Āryāvarta)
  • Druhyu (in the north part of early Āryāvarta)
  • Puru (ancestors of the Paurava) (in the centre and east parts of early Āryāvarta, including Sarasvati river region)
  • Turvaśa (Turvasha) (in the centre and south parts of early Āryāvarta): The Turvashas ({{langx|sa|तुर्वश}}, {{IAST|Turvaśa}}) were one of the five major peoples{{sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=54}} (panchajana, panchakrishtya or panchamanusha) mentioned in the Rigveda. {{cite book|last=Singh|first=Upinder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC&dq=Panchajana+Rigveda&pg=PA187|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|publisher=Pearson Education|year=2008|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|location=Delhi|page=187}} The Turvashas had a tribal union with the Yadu tribe, and were frequently described together.{{sfn|Witzel|2001}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=204}} The Turvashas were a partly Indo-Aryan-acculturated Indus tribe.{{sfn|Witzel|1999}} By the time of the arrival of the Puru and Bharata tribes, the Yadu-Turvashas were settled in Punjab.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=236}} By the time of the Shatapatha Brahmana (7th-6th centuries BCE),{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=136}}{{cite book|first=Jan N.|last=Bremmer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tPjVJF8roYC&pg=PA158|title=The Strange World of Human Sacrifice|publisher=Peeters Publishers|date=2007|isbn=978-90-429-1843-6|page=158|access-date=15 December 2012}} the Turvashas are linked to the Panchalas.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=236}}{{Pb}} Alfred Ludvig first conjectured that Turvīti and Vayya could have been connected with the Turvasha tribe, a notion that is still considered only speculation according to Witzel.{{sfn|Macdonell|Keith|1995|p=317}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=234}} In Mandalas 4 and 5 of the Rigveda, the god Indra is stated to have saved the Yadu-Turvashas from drowning when they crossed rivers.{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|p=235}}{{Sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=605, 695}} In Mandala 6, the Yadu-Turvashas are stated to have been "brought from far away" by Indra.{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|pp=222, 262}}{{Sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=829}} The Yadu-Turvashas are treated relatively positively in Mandalas 5, 6, and 8,{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|p=237}} and are stated to be the occasional allies and enemies of the Puru-Bharatas.{{Sfn|Witzel|1995|p=235}}
  • Yadu (in the southeast and south parts of early Āryāvarta)

Early Janapadas (c. 1700–1100 BCE)

File:Early Vedic Culture (1700-1100 BCE).png and tribes]]

After roughly 1700 BCE Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes were swiftly expanding through ancient northern India, therefore the number of peoples, tribes and clans was increasing (as well as the number of Indo-Aryan language speakers) and Āryāvarta was becoming a very large area (see the map on the right side).

  • Aja – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Ambaśṭha – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Aṅga – Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta (Madhya-desha and Prachya Āryāvarta – Central and Eastern Āryāvarta in Vamana).
  • Anu – is a Vedic Sanskrit term for one of the 5 major tribes in the Rigveda, RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5 (both times listed together with the Druhyu) and, much later also in the Mahabharata.{{cite book |last1=Talageri |first1=Shrikant G. |editor1=Edwin F. Bryant |editor2=Laurie L. Patton |title=The Indo-Aryan controversy: Evidence and inference in Indian history |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |location=London; New York |isbn=978-0-700-71463-6 |pages=332–340 |chapter=The textual evidence: The Rigveda as a source of Indo-European history |url=https://ia802909.us.archive.org/6/items/EdwinBryantLauriePattonIndoAryanControversyEvidenceAndInferenceInIndianHistoryRoutledge2005/Edwin%20Bryant%2C%20Laurie%20Patton-Indo-Aryan%20Controversy_%20Evidence%20and%20Inference%20in%20Indian%20History-Routledge%20%282005%29.pdf }} In the late Vedic period, one of the Anu kings, King Anga, is mentioned as a "chakravartin" (AB 8.22). Ānava, the vrddhi derivation of Anu, is the name of a ruler in the Rigvedic account of the Battle of the Ten Kings (7.18.13) and at 8.4.1 with the Turvaśa (tribe). The meaning ánu "living, human" (Naighantu) cannot be substantiated for the Rigveda{{cite dictionary |last1=Mayrhofer |first1=Manfred |title=Anu |date=1992 |publisher=Winter Verlag |location=Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-8253-3826-8 |page=74 |volume=1 (Band 1) |language=de |dictionary=Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen}} and may have been derived from the tribal name. (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • ĀyuBloomfield, M. (1899). "The Myth of Purūravas, Urvaçī, and Âyu". Journal of the American Oriental Society, 20, 180–183.
  • BhajerathaZimmer, S. (1986). "On a special meaning of jána- in the Rgveda". Indo-Iranian Journal, 29 (2), 109–115.
  • Bhalana – The Bhalanas were one of the tribes that fought against Sudas in the Dasarajna battle. Some scholars have argued that the Bhalanas lived in South Central and Western Pakistan, and that the Bolan Pass, around which live the Brahui people, are the Bhalana people and abode.{{sfn|Macdonell|Keith|1995}} (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Bharadvāja – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • BhrigusWeller, H. (1937). "Who Were the Bhriguids?". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 18 (3), 296–302.
  • Bheda – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Bodha – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Druhyu – The Druhyu were a people of Vedic India. They are mentioned in the Rigveda,{{efn|For example: RV 1.108.8; 7.18; 8.10.5; 6.46.8}} usually together with the Anu tribe.Hopkins, E. W. (1893). "Problematic passages in the Rig-Veda". Journal of the American Oriental Society, 15, 252–283. Some early scholars have placed them in the northwestern region.{{sfn|Macdonell|Keith|1995|loc=I 395}} The later texts, the Epic and the Puranas, locate them in the "north", that is, in Gandhara, Aratta and Setu. (Vishnu Purana IV.17) The Druhyus were driven out of the land of the seven rivers, and their next king, Gandhara, settled in a north-western region which became known as Gandhāra. The sons of the later Druhyu king Pracetas too settle in the "northern" (udīcya) region (Bhagavata 9.23.15–16; Visnu 4.17.5; Vayu 99.11–12; Brahmanda 3.74.11–12 and Matsya 48.9.). The word Druid (Gallic Celtic druides), is partially derived from Proto-Indo-European vid "to see, to know'{{cite book |last1=Le Roux |first1=Françoise |last2=Guyonvarc'h |first2=Christian-J |title=Les Druides |page=37 |date=1982 |publisher=Ouest-France |location=Paris |language=fr |url= https://archive.org/details/LesDruidesGuyonvarchLerrouxCs}}{{Cite web |title=druid {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/druid |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=Etymonline |language=en}} It has also been alleged that the Rg Veda and the Puranas describe this tribe as migrating North.{{cite web |last1=Raje |first1=Sudhakar |title=Sanskrit in English |url=https://www.indiadivine.org/content/topic/1111841-sanskrit-in-english/ |website=IndiaDivine.org |date=15 February 2006}} However, there is nothing of this in the Rigveda and the Puranas merely mention that the Druhyu are "adjacent (āśrita) to the North". (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Gandharis{{cite journal |last1=Warraich |first1= M. Tauqeer Ahmad |title=Gandhara: An appraisal of its meanings and history |journal=Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan |date=January–June 2011 |volume=48 |issue=1 |url=https://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/14/V_48_No1_2011.html}} [https://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/history/PDF-FILES/Touqir.pdf PDF link]{{snd}}via University of the Punjab. (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  1. {{IAST|Guṅgu}}Grassmann, H. (Ed.). (1876). Rig-veda (Vol. 1). FA Brockhaus.
  2. {{IAST|Iksvaku}}{{cite journal |last1=Pincott |first1=Frederic |title=The First Maṇḍala of the Ṛig-Veda |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |date=October 1887 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=598–624 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00019717|id=Art. XIX}} (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Kārūṣa (Karusha) – later Cedi (Chedi) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Keśin (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Kīkaṭa{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=H. H. (Horace Hayman) |title=Rig-veda Sanhitá: A collection of ancient Hindu hymns |date=1857 |publisher=Trübner; W.H. Allen & Co. |location=London |volume=3: Constituting the Third and Fourth Ashtakas of the Rig-Veda |url=https://archive.org/details/rigvedasanhitc03wils}} (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta)
  • Kosala (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta)
  • Krivi{{cite book |last1=Pike |first1=Albert |title=Indo-Aryan Deities and Worship as Contained in the Rig Veda |date=1930 |publisher=Council of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction of the United States |url=https://archive.org/details/Indo-aryanDeitiesAndWorship-AsContainedInTheRigVeda |language=en}} [Kessinger Publishing (reprint) 1992.] (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Kunti (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Madra (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • Uttara Madra (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • Magadha (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta)
  • Mahāvṛṣa (Mahavrisha) (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • MahīnaPerry, E. D. (1885). "Indra in the Rig-Veda". Journal of the American Oriental Society, 11, 117–208.
  • Malankhara{{cite book|translator=Ralph T. H. Griffith |date=1896 |author-link=Ralph T. H. Griffith |title= The Rig-Veda|url=https://sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/index.htm}}
  • MatsyaMuller, F. M. (1869). Rig-veda-sanhita (Vol. 1). (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Mūjavana / Maujavant{{cite conference|last1=Witzel |first1=Michael |title=Aryan and non-Aryan names in Vedic India: Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900–500 B.C. |date=1999b |doi=10.11588/xarep.00000112 |conference=Proceedings of the International Seminar on Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia, University of Michigan – 25–27 October 1996|book-title=Aryan and non-Aryan in South Asia: Evidence, interpretation and ideology|editor1=Johannes Bronkhorst |editor2=Madhav Desphande |publisher= Harvard University; South Asia Books |location=Cambridge, Mass. (US) |series=Harvard Oriental Series: Opera Minora III |isbn= 9781888789041 |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=6a59d8f188ef52d4d9f150360777c6dc220e4374}} (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • Nahuṣa
  • Pāñcala (Panchala) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Pārāvata (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Pṛthu (Prithu) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Pūru (Puru) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Bharatas – The Bharatas are an Aryan tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, especially in Mandala 3 attributed to the Bharata sage Vishvamitra and in and Mandala 7.{{sfn|Frawley|2001}} Bharatá is also used as a name of Agni (literally, "to be maintained", viz. the fire having to be kept alive by the care of men), and as a name of Rudra in RV 2.36.8. In one of the "river hymns" RV 3.33, the entire Bharata tribe is described as crossing over, with their chariots and wagons, at the confluence of the Vipash (Beas) and Shutudri (Satlej). Hymns by Vasistha in Mandala 7 (7.18 etc.) mention the Bharatas as the protagonists in the Battle of the Ten Kings, where they are on the winning side. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various Aryan and non-Aryan tribes so that they continue to dominate in post-Rigvedic texts, and later in the (Epic) tradition, the Mahābhārata, the eponymous ancestor becomes Emperor Bharata, conqueror of 'all of India', and his tribe and kingdom is called Bhārata. "Bhārata" today is the official name of the Republic of India (see also Etymology of India). (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Kuru{{sfn|Frawley|2001}} – Ancestors of the Kaurava (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Uttara Kuru (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • Pandu – Ancestors of the Pandava (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • Tṛtsu (Tritsu) The Tritsus are a sub-group of the Puru who are distinct from the Bharatas mentioned in Mandala 7 of the Rigveda (in hymns 18, 33 and 83). Under king Sudas they defeated the confederation of ten kings led by the Bharatas at the Battle of the Ten Kings. (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Ruśama (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Śālva (Shalva) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Sārasvata – people that dwelt the banks of the Sarasvati river (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Satvanta (Dakshina Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta)
  • Śigru (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Śiva (Shiva, not to be confused with the God Śiva or Shiva) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Srñjaya (Srinjaya) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Śvikna (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Turvaśa (Turvasa)
  • Uśīnara (Ushinara) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Vaikarṇa (Vaikarna) (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta)
  • Vaṅga (Vanga) (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta)
  • Varaśikha (Varashikha) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Vaśa (Vasha) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)
  • Vidarbha (Vidarbha, Dakshina Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta)
  • Videha (Mithila, Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta)
  • Viśaṇin (Vishanin) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Vṛcivanta (Vrichivanta) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta)
  • Yadu (Dakshina Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta)
  • Yakṣu (Yakshu) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)

Late Janapadas (c. 1100–500 BCE)

File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png with Janapadas in northern India. Beginning of Iron Age kingdoms in India— Kuru, Panchala, Kosala, Videha.]]

From roughly 1100 to 500 BCE Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes expanded even further throughout ancient northern India (see the map 6).

According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.Misra, Sudama (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Vārāṇasī: Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana. p. 78

Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE)

File:Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png roughly in 500 BCE.]]

महाजनपद – Mahajanapada

Shodasa Mahajanapadas (Sixteen Mahajanapadas)

The Mahajanapadas were sixteen great kingdoms and republics that emerged after the more powerful political entities (initially based on the territories of peoples and tribes) had conquered many others.

According to the Anguttara Nikaya, Digha Nikaya, Chulla-Niddesa (Buddhist Canon)

According to the Vyākhyāprajñapti / Bhagavati Sutra (Jain text)

Mentions by Ancient Greek authors

File:The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography by Samuel Butler, Ernest Rhys, ed. (1907, 1908).jpg and part of South Central Asia showing ancient Iranian peoples and tribes; this map also shows ancient peoples of the Indus Valley in Northwest Ancient India.]]

Northwest Ancient India – Indus River Basin

Other regions of Ancient India (India Intra Gangem)

Indo-Aryan or other tribes (possible)

  • Alina (RV 7.18.7) (RV = Rigveda) – They were one of the tribes defeated by Sudas of the Bharatas at the Dasarajna (Ten Kings Battle).{{sfn|Macdonell|Keith|1995|loc=I 39}} It is suggested that they lived to the north-east of the Kambojas (possible ancestors of the Nuristani that live in Nurestan) because in the 7th century CE, the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.{{sfn|Macdonell|Keith|1995|loc=I 39}} It is possible that they are connected with the Alans or Alani people who are a nomadic Iranian tribe. Alans is a dialectal cognate of Aryāna, itself derived from the root arya-, meaning 'Aryan', the common self-designation of Indo-Iranian peoples. It probably came in use in the early history of the Alans for the purpose of uniting a heterogeneous group of tribes through the invocation of a common, ancestral 'Aryan' origin. The historian S. G. Talageri identifies them with the Greeks (Hellenes).{{cite book |last1=Talageri |first1=Shrikant G. |title=The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis |date=2000 |pages=397–408 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-rigveda-a-historical-analysis-shrikant-g.-talageri/page/n397/mode/2up|publisher=Aditya Prakashan|location=New Delhi}} However, the dating of the Rigveda and the hypothetical historic time for the Dasarajna-yuddha (Battle of Ten Kings) occurred millennia before Hellenes were recorded in India.
  • Parsu (Parśu) – The Parsus have been connected with the Persians based on the evidence of an Assyrian inscription from 844 BC referring to the Persians as Parshu, and the Behistun Inscription of Darius I of Persia referring to Parsa as the home of the Persians. Pârsâ, is the Old Persian name for the Persis region Pars province as well as the root for the term Persian.
  • Shakya – a clan of Iron Age India (1st millennium BCE), habitating an area in Greater Magadha, on the foothills of the Himalaya mountains. This is also the clan in which Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Buddha or Shakyamuni – Sage of the Shakyas) ({{Circa|6th}} to 4th centuries BCE) was born into, whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism. According to Chandra Das, the name "Shakya" is derived from the Sanskrit word "śakya," which means "the one who is capable". Some scholars argue that the Shakya were of Scythian (Saka) origin (part of the Iranian peoples) and assimilated into Indo-Aryan peoples.{{cite journal|first=Jayarava |last=Attwood |title=Possible Iranian Origins for the Śākyas and Aspects of Buddhism |journal=Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies |date=2012 |volume=3 |pages=47–69 |url=http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/viewFile/26/29}}{{cite book |chapter= Prologue: Scythian Philosophy – Pyrrho, the Persian Empire, and India |first=Christopher I. |last= Beckwith|title=Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia |date=2016 |doi= 10.23943/princeton/9780691176321.003.0001 |pages=1–21 |isbn=978-0691166445 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}

Hypothetical Indo-Aryans

See also

{{divcol|colwidth=15em}}

{{divcol end}}

Notes

{{Notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

=Sources=

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book |last1=Anthony |first1=David W. |title=The Horse, the Wheel and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World |date=2007 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, N.J. |isbn=978-0-691-14818-2}}
  • {{Cite book |editor-first=George |editor-last=Erdosy |title= The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity |doi=10.1515/9783110816433 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin |date=1995 |isbn=9783110144475 |series =Indian Philology and South Asian Studies, Vol. 1|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110816433/html?lang=en|url-access= subscription }}
  • {{Cite book |last=Witzel |first=Michael |editor=George Erdosy |chapter=Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres |title= The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity |doi=10.1515/9783110816433-009 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin |date=1995 |isbn=9783110144475 |pages=85–125}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20060911232956/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/Erdosy1995.pdf Chapter link with alternative pagination]: (pp. 85–290) – Via Wayback Machine.
  • {{Cite book |last=Witzel |first=Michael |editor=George Erdosy |chapter=Ṛgvedic history: Poets, chieftains and polities |title= The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity |doi=10.1515/9783110816433-019 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin |url-access= subscription |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110816433/html?lang=en |date=1995a |isbn=9783110144475 |series =Indian Philology and South Asian Studies, Vol. 1 |pages=307–352}}

  • {{cite book |last1=Frawley |first1=David |title=The Rig Veda and the History of India: Rig Veda Bharata itihasa |date=2001 |publisher=Aditya Prakashan |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7742-039-9 |edition=1st}}
  • {{Cite book|last1=Jamison|first1=Stephanie|last2=Brereton|first2=Joel|title=The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780199370184|author1-link=Stephanie W. Jamison}}
  • {{Cite book|last1=Macdonell|first1=Arthur Anthony|last2=Keith|first2=A. B.|author1-link=A. A. Macdonell|author2-link=A. B. Keith |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|date=1995|isbn=81-208-1332-4|location=Delhi |orig-date=First published 1912}}
  • {{cite book |editor-last1=Mallory|editor-first1=J. P.|editor-first2=Douglas Q. |editor-last2=Adams|title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |date=1997 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |location=London |isbn=978-1-884964-98-5}}
  • {{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Witzel|date=1999|title=Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan: (Ṛgvedic, Middle and Late Vedic).|journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies|volume=5|pages=3–33|citeseerx=10.1.1.411.6137 }}
  • {{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=2001|title=Autochthonous Aryans?: The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=1–118 |journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |url=https://fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/118/2/EJVS_AutochthonousAryans_2001.pdf |id=[Monograph] |archive-date=4 November 2001 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20011104085815id_/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu:80/~witzel/EJVS-7-3.pdf}}

{{refend}}

Further reading

  • Pargiter, F. E. [1922] 1979. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. New Delhi: Cosmo.

Category:Indo-Aryan peoples

Indo-Aryan

Indo-Aryan